You don't need talent to do a world of good

Jason McComb's left leg is two inches shorter than his right one. The car accident that caused this injury also left him with seizures and unable to work and pay bills, so he's often searching for a place to live. But that hasn't stopped McComb, 38, from walking - all the way to Vancouver. The advocate for homeless people is in the midst of a cross-country trek, pushing all his possessions in one cart.

Jason McComb’s left leg is two inches shorter than his right one. The car accident that caused this injury also left him with seizures and unable to work and pay bills, so he’s often searching for a place to live. But that hasn’t stopped McComb, 38, from walking – all the way to Vancouver. The advocate for homeless people is in the midst of a cross-country trek, pushing all his possessions in one cart.

Then there’s Paulie O’Byrne, who set out from Victoria on rollerblades this spring. He’s battled severe depression and is stick-handing a hockey ball all the way to Newfoundland, in an effort to break the stigma around addiction and mental illness. (O’Byrne, also from London, is recovering from an injury, and determined to continue his journey soon.)

McComb and O’Bryne might bump into Paul Nichols of Calgary, as he rides horseback across Canada to meet hundreds of other military veterans. Nichols is blogging about vets, connecting former soldiers and boosting awareness of the challenges they face after life in the armed forces.

People often ask us: ‘How can I best contribute to a cause I’m passionate about?’ We’ve found one of the best ways to really make a mark is doing something you’re good at. Showing off your skills doesn’t have to be as epic as a cross-country commitment. Here are our favourite examples of “ordinary” young people around the planet using their talents for extraordinary impact: Colorado teen Gabi Ury has VATER syndrome, which affects her spinal cord and muscle strength. But last year, Gabi broke the Guinness World Record for planking (a yoga pose that resembles holding a pushup on your elbows) for over 100 minutes.

She raised US$50,000 for the Denver Children’s Hospital. “I always thought it would be cool to do something no one else had ever done before,” Gabi told us. “And why not help people at the same time?” With violin in hand, 10-year-old Madison Glinski of Cornwall, in the U.K., started busking on the streets of her hometown last spring, supporting a community children’s hospice. To date, she has received about $78,000 in donations.

Meanwhile, four 20-something Aussies (calling themselves “How Ridiculous”), are using their insane trickshot skills with Frisbees, soccer balls, and anything else they can think of, to tackle global child poverty. They promote their antics on an immensely popular YouTube channel and have even set a Guinness World Record for the highest basketball shot ever – over 90 metres from Rotterdam’s Euromast tower.

“We don’t just want our videos to entertain,” the tricksters say. “We want to inspire people to use their own gifts, talents and resources to join us in the fight against child poverty.”

Two Manitoba schools have parlayed otherwise unappreciated teen talents – staying up all night and playing practical jokes – into fundraising campaigns. Riverton Collegiate Institute held a 24-hour volleyball tournament for development projects in Ecuador. Meanwhile, the lawns of Selkirk, Man. were flocked with plastic pink flamingos last spring, thanks to students from a local high school who wanted to support communities in Nicaragua. In exchange for a small donation, the pranksters would remove the fake birds. And if you doubled it, they would move them to a lawn of your choice.

Finally, for those who claim they truly have no talents, a group of B.C. preschoolers recently put on an all-day dance party to help build a school for kids in Kenya. We’ve seen video evidence from those tiny talents (who raised over $60,000), that anyone, of any age, has the ability to change the world.

Brothers Craig and Marc Kielburger founded a platform for social change that includes the international charity Free The Children, the social enterprise Me to We and the youth empowerment movement We Day.

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